


Bared

by madelita



Series: Cabin adventures [2]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:13:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29058798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madelita/pseuds/madelita
Summary: He might’ve been more inclined to believe that his talk with Kuroba was some sort of fever dream, but the memories preceding that reassure him that it was not.
Relationships: Hakuba Saguru/Hattori Heiji/Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid, Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid
Series: Cabin adventures [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2117394
Comments: 21
Kudos: 49





	Bared

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this time I didn't make the mistake of saying I won't write more of this, so...
> 
> Kaishin is the ship I started out with in this fandom, so it's very dear to me, but I've written surprisingly little for it.  
> This one features aggressive amounts of hand holding and looking into each other's eyes, and not much else, buuuut. It's done, it's here.  
> Once again I wouldn't be surprised one bit if some of you felt that this is ooc.
> 
> Anyways, please enjoy!

At some point during the night, Shinichi woke up to… something. He wasn’t aware of much: there was the vague impression of the room in the dark, the faintest outlines of heads and shoulders and arms in front of him. Smaller things, a little bit after, like the warmth around him solidifying into a pleasant weight on his waist and around his hands.

He was comfortable, more so than he’d ever been. Safe. He didn’t want to move, except that the old bullet wound on his shoulder was acting up. But it only took a slight change of angle, barely any movement, really, and he was good. 

And then: the weight around his waist getting more insistent, pulling him backwards, and a groan right against his neck, and, god, was that Hattori?

Suddenly, the world opened up around him. Yes, it definitely was Hattori, who was now snoring into his back, holding him close like a particularly possessive koala. In fact, they were in Hattori’s bed, he could smell the mint everywhere around him. In front of him, there was just enough light slipping through the curtains to paint Hakuba’s head with silver, and between him and Shinichi, there was Kuroba, wild hair and all. And looking straight at Shinichi.

He would’ve jumped up, right then and there, if the hold on his hands didn’t get tighter.

“You can’t sleep either?” Kuroba asked, so quietly that Shinichi first thought he just imagined it.

He shook his head, as much as he could, laying there. His tongue felt big and clumsy in his mouth.

“Well, these guys can, so let’s not wake them up, okay?”

Shinichi nodded.

“We can still talk, though. Hakuba here drank just enough that he won’t wake up easily, and Hattori is not a light sleeper.” When Shinichi kept only staring at him, he chuckled. He let go of his hands, and reached up so he could tuck a stray strand of hair behind Shinichi’s ear, then let his palm linger on his cheek just for a moment before he took hold of Shinichi’s hand again. “Come on. I can’t fall asleep right away. Indulge me a little.”

“What… what do you want to talk about?”

“Anything, really.” Kuroba shrugged, before he remembered that he was being held captive just like Shinichi. He looked back to Hakuba for a moment, patted his arm. During that time, a weight was removed from Shinichi, so heavy it didn’t let him move, speak, or even breathe. The respite was short, though -- soon enough Kuroba focused back on him, eyes somehow bright even in the dark of the room. “Tell me… tell me about the book you’re reading. Or the case you discussed with Hattori. Tell me something embarrassing from your childhood. Whatever you like.”

“...it’s not a very good book,” Shinichi says, at last, suddenly feeling shy. He never had a problem sharing his interests with Kuroba, he even enjoyed bickering a little, so why…? Though, it’s not really about interests, still. It’s about the unsteadiness of his voice, the thundering of his heart in his chest and his ears. At his fingertips, when Kuroba squeezes his hand.

“I don’t care. Just, talk to me, Shinichi.” Kuroba sounded too open for comfort. Lingered on his name like he was trying out to feel of it in his mouth. He must’ve felt safe like that, obscured by the dark as he was. All Shinichi could read was the tone of his voice, the heat of his palm.

And… was he afraid? He sounded like he might’ve been.

Shinichi gathered up his voice, as best he could, and gathered his wits, too, trying to remember the predictable mystery of his book in the face of Kuroba’s (Kaito’s?) vulnerability. He talked, and talked, and talked, until the skyline outside began to brighten, but the hold on his hands didn’t ease one bit. Stayed that way until the room went from black to hazy grey, and shapes emerged from nothingness.

At some point, Kuroba fell asleep. Shinichi noticed the change in his breath some time ago, but he wanted to make sure… Make sure what exactly? Whatever it was, it eased off the more he watched Kuroba’s face, peaceful and calm like he rarely ever was.

Soon after, Shinichi fell asleep too.

-

Next thing Shinichi knows, the room is overbright behind his eyelids, and the world is kicking the door to his mind open. Along with yesterday’s memories.

He might’ve been more inclined to believe that his talk with Kuroba was some sort of fever dream, but the memories preceding that reassure him that it was not. He now understands, with a clarity he’s not sure he can stomach, why Hattori was sleeping behind him, why Hakuba was sleeping behind Kuroba. Why they were all sleeping in the same bed.

He’s also very naked.

Alright, deep breath, eyes open. Start with the simple things.

It’s late morning, judging by the brightness. Hattori is gone, and so is Hakuba. Kuroba is still in bed with him, asleep. Also naked. These are the facts.

The rest is a bog waiting to be untangled by fingers defter than his.

At last, he grabs onto the first thread that comes to his head, and pulls: that feeling of safety from last night. Past the many waves of “oh god whys?” and “how on earths?,” he knows that it’s because he was surrounded by people he cares about, people he trusts with his life. And that’s something he should consider, when all too often he still wakes up from nightmares, if he falls asleep at all, haunted by the past.

Is he greedy for wanting this? He wouldn’t take more than what would be willingly given to him. This bit is surprisingly easy.

If he was only supposed to have one night, then… that’s all he’ll get.

But.

He wouldn’t mind if they did it again, this he can admit in the safety of his mind. Yesterday was, past the embarrassment, a relief that he hasn’t felt like in… well, pretty much ever. He could let go, for once, let himself fall and be caught. Also, he adds in his head while blood rushes to his cheeks, the other three, they were… they were really good. More than good.

(These are the haziest memories he has, and he’s not sure he wants them to be any clearer. But there is something to be said about the way Hattori held him, for one, tight and steady, when he was shaking apart, and whispered in his ears, something warm and kind, though Shinichi didn’t register the words themselves. Or Hakuba’s quiet, but assured “You first,” as he reached out to Shinichi, starting out kinder and then leaving stinging bite marks on his thighs. Kuroba, laughing brightly at the jumbled mess of them, before he nuzzled his neck and put his oh-so-talented hands to good use.)

There’s four of them, but surely other people get up to weirder things, right?

As for the rest?

It’s all too easy, really, to think of more, to push further and turn those joking, off-the-shoulder “I love you, mans” into something serious. To mean those words. To imagine how comfortable they would feel, once they stopped cutting into his tongue. To imagine the comfort of hearing it back.

Hold on.

Isn’t he being really pathetic right now?

What are the odds of the others wanting more than what they already had?

“Nnn… Meitantei, you’re thinking too loud.”

He startles at Kuroba’s voice. Apparently, Kuroba woke up while he was lost in thought, and… he might’ve been watching Shinichi for a while now.

“There’s-”

“‘There’s no such thing as thinking too loud,’ right?” Kuroba grins, cheeky and roguish. “About that. Just think back on each time when you got injured, and Hattori was sitting by your bedside, brooding. And thinking, very, very loudly.”

“Wrong. When that happens, he yells at me for being too careless.”

“He does, yes, but only when he realizes that you’re well enough to be yelled at.” ...that’s true, unfortunately. Damn it. “Admit defeat, Meitantei, you know I’m right.”

“Fine, Hattori does do that, but that still doesn’t mean I’m doing it, too.”

“Did you know that you two make a lot of similar expressions? There are subtle differences, of course, but this little frown,” he reaches out to smooth out the crease between Shinichi’s eyebrows, “is the same. It’s kinda cute.”

Shinichi can’t breathe. Kuroba’s palm is hot on his cheek where it lingers, and leaves a trail of ice when he pulls away, only to anchor Shinichi to the bed when he takes his hand again.

“You’re doing it again… Hm. Want to know something else? I knew you were thinking too much even before I opened my eyes, because you were squeezing my hand. Just like this~ No, don’t let go. It was nice.”

There’s a lull after that. Shinichi doesn’t dare to, and if he’s honest, doesn’t want to pull away, and Kuroba almost lets himself fall back asleep. Keyword being almost. Kuroba does a great job at looking natural and comfortable, if Shinichi was just a little less observant, and more importantly, if he knew Kuroba less, he would be fooled. But Shinichi knows exactly what to look for, and he sees the not-quite-tension that flares up with every little move Shinichi makes.

Kuroba is waiting to see what Shinichi will do.

What is he supposed to do, though? Aren’t they supposed to talk? All four of them?

“Hhh, Meitantei… I’m gonna go crazy if you keep doing that. How am I supposed to get my beauty sleep when you’re this tense next to me?”

“That’s rich, coming from you. Aren’t you just as tense?” A breath. Kuroba watching him with forced calm and innocence -- Shinichi can see a veil falling back in place.

He does it without thinking: he pulls himself closer, and reaches out until he can bury his fingers into Kuroba’s hair at the back of his head. Holds him steady there. Like this, they’re only a breath away from each other, their noses almost touching.

“Don’t hide from me,” he says. “I want to see you.”

“Well, you certainly do now, Meitantei,” Kuroba laughs, and tries to bow his head. Shinichi grabs onto his hair tighter. It doesn’t hurt now, but it will if Kuroba wants to move away. He knows this, too -- something stirs up in Shinichi at the way his breath catches.

“Don’t.”

“...what do you want me to do then?”

Now it’s time for Shinichi to pay for being hasty. All this time he felt weak when Kuroba looked at him, even from a slightly more respectable distance, now his body is a live wire, a shock running through him with each exhale he can feel on his lips, while he fights, loses, and drowns under Kuroba’s gaze. Their bodies are too close, it’s his fault, and he makes a note of that while he still can, before he burns up in the heat they share.

“Hm? What would you like me to do?”

Of course Kuroba noticed that he faltered, and of course he’s acting upon it. That’s what he does: he finds the weak points and exploits them. And Shinichi knows this, knows that this is a ploy just to make him let go, make him watch Kuroba less closely, or rather, make him focus on the parts that Kuroba wants him to see and nothing else, like he’s pulling a magic trick. Shinichi knows this, and it’s still working, and he can’t hide this from Kuroba.

He knows what Kuroba is doing when he kisses him. He kisses back anyway.

It’s not a bad thing, what Kuroba is offering him. A relief, a chance to not think and worry, just enjoy themselves. But it’s temporary.

It’s temporary, but that doesn’t have to mean it’s bad. Surely they can take their time a little, right?

Right.

-

Afterwards, Kuroba turns to him and asks: "Do you still want to think? Hm, Meitantei? Doesn't it get boring, thinking all the time?"

Shinichi's eye twitches. "Doesn't being impossible all the time get boring?"

"Of course not.” Kuroba grins at him. “Being impossible never gets boring, unlike thinking. That's why it's better. That's why magicians are better."

“Oh really.”

“You might want to give it a try, loosen up a little.”

“What was I doing just now, if not loosening up? Huh?”

“It was good for a first attempt…” Kuroba starts, as his fingers skate down Shinichi’s hip again.

Silly magician. Doesn’t he know not to do the same trick twice?

Shinichi grabs his hand, holds onto it tight, and doesn’t give Kuroba an inch. He got distracted the first time, but he won’t be fooled again.

“We should talk,” he says, sounding suddenly too serious even for himself. Kuroba startles at it, and he for once can’t hide the way his hand twitches.

“Meitantei, you’re no fun…” He sighs, and bumps his forehead against Shinichi’s. “We should,” he says, at last, and moves to get out from under the blankets. “But we should go downstairs for that. Might as well talk to the other two.”

Shinichi doesn’t think he’s ready for that. Kuroba alone is too much already, to face Hattori and Hakuba too sounds impossible. He can feel the sweat building on his palm, feel his heart beat itself into a frenzy. But at this point, what he’s ready for and what he’s not doesn’t matter. They need to clear things up, because Shinichi can’t stand the uncertainty.

As Shinichi stands up to get dressed, his eyes wander over to Kuroba. He watches as he bends down to pick up some clothes off the floor for himself, and it doesn’t seem to matter that his socks are mismatched, or that the sweater he picked up belongs to Shinichi. Soon, all that bare skin is hidden. A shame, really. The pink lines left by the creases in the bedding look lovely on him, and Shinichi remembers the little mole on the small of his back from yesterday, remembers finding it cute. Remembers, most of all, that moment when Kuroba was fully naked and he could finally see all of him: long limbed, wiry, and sweet with the flush spreading from his cheeks down to his chest. He thinks he would like to look at Kuroba longer, even if the idea makes him blush all over again.

But once he gets over himself, he sees other things too. Kuroba is quick to dress up, as if he wants to hide, and when he’s finished, he squares his shoulders like he’s preparing himself to be judged. He holds himself steady, like he doesn’t want to show weakness, like he’s marching into battle.

He remembers this stance, these movements, from when Kid was targeted by a sniper.

And once again, something takes over Shinichi, and he walks over to Kuroba without thinking. Turns him around by his shoulders, then lets his hands rest on his cheek.

“It’ll be alright,” he tells him with a confidence he doesn’t feel. Kuroba knows, can read him as well as his closest friends, and he opens his mouth to retort with something. Shinichi doesn’t let him -- he pulls him closer until he can kiss him. A chaste little thing, compared to before, more proximity than passion. But Shinichi doesn’t let go until he can feel the tension drain from Kuroba. Then, and only then, he pulls back a little, feels warm when Kuroba moves to follow his lips and steal a small peck. He smiles. “You don’t have to hide from us, Kaito. Just trust us.”

And the weird thing is, as he says those words, he knows: it's the truth. Whatever happens, the four of them can always make it work, why should this time be any different?

And still, he's not prepared for the openness of Kuroba's, no, Kaito's eyes, or his smile, fragile but clear and trusting as he says:

"Alright, Shinichi."


End file.
